Category: thanksgiving

The holidays can be a difficult time for some people, especially for anyone suffering from anxiety or any sort of emotional disorder. I for one usually enjoyed the holidays, but never really felt that they were my own. My parents separated when I was young and I never spent my holidays in one place- I bounced from location to location. It became my norm. So a lot of my holiday anxiety was centered around traveling or the worry that I was going to disappoint someone by not spending enough time at location A or location B or not being at one location at all.

This year I have decided to forgo all of that. My fiancée and I just moved into our own place and are going to begin to make our own holiday traditions and start our own family. I am going to allow myself to release the guilt and the burdens of family holiday stress and drama.

One of the reasons I was most excited to have a place of my own was to be able to stay in one central location for Thanksgiving and for Christmas, but even the last few years as I lived on my own I still bounced from parent to parent and from relative to relative. This year now that someone else is involved in my life, I made it a point to say this is OUR holiday, if anyone would like to join us they are more than welcome to do so.

Now, that comes with its own stress of hosting, but it’s a stress that as a former holiday nomad, I welcome with open arms. I am looking forward to making my own holiday traditions with my fiancée, my family and my soon to be family.

However, just because I think my holidays are coming together as I have always envisioned them doesn’t mean there won’t be some bumps along the way and some stress and anxiety that I will have to handle. So here are a few tips and tricks that I plan on utilizing in an effort to help keep myself as calm as possible.

Photo from istock

Remember the reason for the holiday- to be thankful for what you have

Don’t worry about perfection, it doesn’t exist any way!

If you’re preparing food, prepare as much ahead of time as possible

It’s ok to enlist help- don’t try to do it all alone

It’s ok to ask people to bring stuff- if you’re cooking the main dish it’s ok to ask someone to bring a side dish or a dessert

Have a glass of wine, not the whole bottle!

Try to get in some activity, the endorphins will definitely help!

Have something fun and stress free planned for the next day, maybe shopping on Black Friday isn’t your best bet!